MT. PICO DE LORO

 “PICK KO BASURA MO SA MT. PICO DE LORO”

June 27-28, 2009

1. Favorite Mountain
2. The Journey Begins
3. The Assault
4. Summit
5. Socials
6. Toreng Bato
7. Descent
8. Waterfalls
9. DENR And The Beach
10. Extended Socials

1. FAVORITE MOUNTAIN

The mountain responsible for my addiction to hiking and mountaineering is Mt. Pico de Loro. Although this was not my first mountain hiking escapade, it opened my enthusiasm and excitement towards Philippine mountains. I may have climbed several other beautiful mountains but Mt. Pico de Loro will always be my favorite.

My novice experience in Mt. Samat, Mt. Makiling and Mt. Maculot made me crave for more adventure. And I found one thanks to my high school friends and Sir Anthony Go of PHINOE mountaineers. The only difference this time from the abovementioned was that this next climb was more prepared and formal. Our target destination was Mt. Pico de Loro in Ternate, Cavite.

We spent the night before the climb in the house of my friend, Simply, together with our high school classmates and schoolmates Julie, Cely, Roselyn and Ronnel. I must admit that I was very excited that night and I even thought that I will not be able to sleep. But I did. As a matter of fact, I was the last one to wake up the next day. We all prepared and went to Baclaran where we met our co-climbers.

Sir Long was the first person I spoke to. I had even mistaken him as Sir Anthony because of his attire. You could tell that he is already a veteran at exploring jungles and climbing mountains. However, he was not the only one complete with genuine mountaineering gears and flashing that hardcore mountaineer look. All our co-climbers were well equipped and were dressed like real mountaineers. Most of them had warmers on their arms and legs and their backpacks were really for the outdoors. Ours were for school. I became more anxious. I could still remember the smirk on my face when I was comparing the attire of our female co-climbers with my female classmates. It was like they were ready to head to the jungle and we were ready to hit the malls instead! I just realized that I have so much more to learn and a lot more to experience. So I consider this as the start of my mountaineering career even though this was already my fifth climb.

We all boarded this old bus being operated by Ate Bhel and her husband. I was the junior team leader of my small group which they call “kids” but I liked to call the Young Mountaineers of Bulacan. With us were the Dahong Palay mountaineers and the Bacoor Teletech Outdoor climbers. The adventure started with an educational trip because we stopped over at the trial house where Andres Bonifacio was executed. We stopped by at the Maragondon market where I enjoyed roaming around with Cely, Simply and Ronnel. I was the scribe of the group because all throughout I had with me my video camera. I brought it because I wanted to document every minute of the journey.

2. THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Finally, it was time to head to Ternate. The anxiety rose when the forests and mountains appeared on the view outside the bus. It was just astounding for beginners like us. And when it was time to step out of the bus, it seemed like the excitement was on its way to climax. The trek began with a cardiac trail; a steep shortcut which gave us a harsh appetizer on what we were going to encounter inside the dense forest of Cavite. My leg muscles did its job and I was breathing like a madman lost in a jungle. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as we hiked further. At last, our first stopover! We were perspiring and catching our breaths so we rehydrated. I realized the importance of this 4.5L which added to my agony carrying it for three to five hours. Water is life. The first part of the trek was exhausting but there were stopovers. We had our lunch at kubo where a second registration fee was imposed.

The first part was hiking up and down through the forest until we reach the base of Mt. Pico de Loro. It was like we were crossing ten mountains to get to our target mountain. The trail was muddy because of the post effects of rain. It had its first casualty when my friend Cely slipped and stumbled on the muddy floor. At first, I did not notice it was her! I thought she was one of our fellow female climbers. It was a hard fall and I swear I heard an uncomfortable sound from her head when it reached the soil. We rested as an SOP for minor (and major) injuries. Our fellow mountaineers checked for injuries and asked Cely if she was okay. Cely said she was fine. And after five minutes we went on. But what was not okay was the thought of shame if I slip because everybody will witness it. So I started to be more careful. But it didn’t work! I slipped! Twice! Good thing there were streams on the way. It meant refreshment. It helped us wash our muddy feet and clothes.

3. THE ASSAULT

The second part of the trail was the dreaded assault. This time we had to be extra careful because for the most part, we were only heading one direction: up. If we slip, it may mean a long and painful way down. The trail was still muddy but good thing we were inside the forest. There were trees and plants to cling to if we lose our balance. The trail seemed to be an endless one. Every stopover, our co-climbers would tell us “five minutes na lang.” But this five minutes became ten. It became fifteen. It became thirty and so on. I learned that it was a rite of passage to motivate the virgins or newbies in a group. I did not stumble during this part of the climb. However, it looked like the trail was not going to stop. But it did. Campsite at last! At that time, I just wanted to lie down.

The campsite was a space with trees and bamboos around it. Then I began asking myself, looking for the famous Parrot’s Beak and the beautiful view. But I thought we needed to trek for another century to get to it so I focused on helping set up camp. When everything was almost set, Sir Anthony ordered us to follow him. Just less than a minute away from the campsite was the magnificent scenic view of the Maragondon mountains! It was an incredible feeling and I felt an unexplainable awe upon seeing what we had accomplished climbing. Sir Nono Fines, the team leader of DPM told me “this is the reason (pointing to the view) why we climb mountains.” Then I looked up and I saw the infamous Toreng Bato. I learned that we still were not at the summit but the view was already rewarding. The trek continued with the major goal of reaching the summit, one that I failed to accomplish in Mt. Makiling and Mt. Maculot. If there is one collective goal and major reason why real mountaineers climb mountains, it is to reach the summit.

4. SUMMIT

I have heard a lot about the breathtaking 360 degree view from the summit of Mt. Pico de Loro and I could not believe I was about to see it as well. The assault to the summit was steeper and not for the faint of heart, but the view was magnificent. We reached the summit and the 360 degree view was really breathtaking! We saw the other peripheral mountains of Cavite and other provinces like Batangas, Laguna and Mindoro. I also saw Toreng Bato at the other side facing the summit. Sir Long Henson climbed it and we were all impressed! We could see him waving from the tower-shaped rock formation. The people who have climbed it claimed that it was a near death experience holding on to a rope at the edge of a cliff. Neither did Sir Anthony climb Toreng Bato, saying he already scaled it before and would not dare climb it again, at least not for that day. I told myself I want to experience it and face my fears. But I did not, that day. Instead, it was a perfect photo opportunity for everyone taking shot after shot of them standing tall and proud at the highest point in Cavite. Being on top of Mt. Pico de Loro made me feel that I am part of the universe and that the earth is alive. It definitely inspired me to take care and be thankful of the beauty of nature.

5. SOCIALS

When we were back at campsite, we cleaned ourselves and arranged our things inside our tent. I brought my two California tents with me; a blue one which is smaller and a larger green tent which I recently bought. I was overwhelmed with the experience and at the same time tired so I decided to take a nap while the others were preparing dinner. Simply woke me up when dinner was ready. After eating, it rained. It appeared like rain will spoil the evening and I did not realize I fell asleep again.

When I woke up, I was alone in the tent. Rain had stopped and all of them were huddled outside. I heard my classmates sharing why they joined the clean up climb. They said I influenced them in doing so and that they were also curious so they wanted to experience it. I prepared for the first socials in my life! I got out of the tent to join them and it was so damn cold! I joined them and was also asked about my thoughts on the activity. I had the most mountaineering activity but I was still definitely just a novice. The other mountaineers inspired us to conquer more mountains and they shared tips and told us their own mountaineering tales. Sir Erwin and Ma’am Fiona were arguing constructively on a matter that we did not understand. It was like “which experience is better – mine or yours” type of discussion. The other mountaineers were teasing them as a good couple. My classmates hit the hay but I was left at the huddle area because I was not sleepy yet. Mountaineering stories turned into ghost stories and I was very eager to listen. They pointed out that there were elementals present in our campsite and that they were observing us. It was frightening a bit but it did not bother me that much. As a matter of fact, I slept alone in the small blue tent that night. All in all, the night’s socials was a very cool experience as I learned a lot from our co-climbers.

6. TORENG BATO

Day two started with the beautiful sunrise. Me and my classmates went out to take pictures again. I initiated a conversation on who wanted to climb Toreng Bato. Simply, Julie, Roselyn and Ronnel declined the invitation. Cely said she wanted to experience it. I was having second thoughts but the next thing I knew was me and Cely were doing an assault to the summit again. We reached the summit and waved at our friends who were sitting on the bench-like rock near the campsite. I stared at Toreng Bato and asked Cely if she was scared. She said she was not scared. So we journeyed on to reach the base of Toreng Bato. If the assault to the summit was scary, the trip to the base of Toreng Bato was even scarier! We had to hold on tight to the rock formation to avoid a painful stumble.

Fear started to set in when we reached the base of Toreng Bato. My heart started to pound faster. But I was not showing it to Cely. She still claimed to be not afraid. What’s wrong with this girl?! So together we walked carefully towards the back of the structure. There, we saw horror. The tower-shaped structure was practically leaning towards a cliff edge! We still pushed through. We encountered the dreaded ropes! I went first. Using the rope, I pulled myself up. When my feet were partially suspended in the air, my right hand was holding the rope while my left hand was looking for some rooms in the rocks. I was very concerned of losing my grip on the rock and lose my balance. I was not a fan of the rope because it seemed old and not reliable. When I was halfway through, I almost gave up. My knees were trembling. This time, what I saw was worse than horror…death! It was like the side of Toreng Bato was pushing me towards the cliff! I was also concerned that there were snakes on the spaces on the rocks where I was clinging to. But a snake bite was definitely a lesser evil than falling down more than 500 meters above the ground! I stopped for a moment and breathed hard. I thought about death and the things that might happen if I were to die. But I remembered those people who reached the top of Toreng Bato and what an accomplishment if I would be one of them. I thought of the amazing feeling on top and little by little, I managed to reach the end of the rope of death. Apparently, aside from being an old rope, it was only tied to this thick bush and that made it more terrifying. But I made it.

It was Cely’s turn. If the rope was hard for me, it was even more difficult for Cely. The only thing I could do was to motivate and instruct her on where to hold. I was coaching her of the proper body position to advance up. I could see her struggling and behind her – the cliff of death! But she made it on the ropes and it was just a few more scary steps and at last! The top of Toreng Bato!

It was an exceptional feeling to be on top! Even if it was not the summit, it felt like we were on top of the world. We could see the clouds parallel to us. We could feel the wind passing through our face. We took pictures and enjoyed the moment. We stared at the beautiful sceneries around us. It disappointed us to see that our classmates were no longer in the rock near our campsite. Nobody saw us on top of the structure. We started shouting out our friends’ names at the top of our lungs. Shouting on top of Toreng Bato felt like we were in control of the world. Amazing! Good thing I brought my video camera and Cely brought Simply’s digital camera. We still can show them what we accomplished. We scaled down Toreng Bato when there were too many clouds brushing our faces already. We were afraid that fog might block our way down or that it might rain. Going down was as hard as going up. We saw death again face to face. But thanks to Him, we were safe. Climbing Toreng Bato was the climax of my adventure in Mt. Pico de Loro.

7. DESCENT

It was time to go down the mountain. But before we did, we put in our gloves and surveyed the place. It was a clean up climb after all. Our goal was to clean the beautiful Mt. Pico de Loro. I really hope that all of the people who will climb this mountain will be doing the same thing. Or if not, at least avoid leaving trash behind. We surveyed the campsite and the kawayanan area for our trash and other trash that might have been there for some time.

The descent was easier. It was less slippery and fast. Cely and Simply were humming some tunes to entertain themselves. The only concern was sweat constantly falling from my eyeglass which bothered me. I looked at Julie who was at my back and the same was happening to her and to my other friends as well. I commend her for being such a trooper. We were all soaking wet with sweat and every step seemed like our knees were going to break. But I was dead set on reaching the base of Mt. Pico de Loro. There were less rests and stops. We reached the base in not more than an hour. We rested in the clearing area.

8. WATERFALLS

The thing that I was anticipating during the climb aside from Toreng Bato was a trip to the falls. After that leg breaking and sweat drenching descent, a shower at the falls would be a sweet one. After the stopover at the clearing we headed towards the falls. I could hear the falls as we got nearer. We were excited to brush off dirt and sweat from our bodies. After a short descent, we reached the waterfalls area.

The sight of the falls was engaging. Sir Anthony reminded us that we were not there to swim because it would mess up our itinerary. But many of us wanted to. Two of our co-climbers swam at the falls area. And the itinerary was forgotten. Most of us took a splash, got wet and enjoyed the falls. The water was very cold. As I was swimming in the middle of the water, I felt something brushing my feet. There were plants on the floor! The thought of some unknown creatures scared the hell out of me. Earlier, our co-climbers who surveyed the area said they saw a snake in the cave. But we were many in the water so I just enjoyed this time. Putting your body right under the falls was a therapeutic experience. I could feel the rush of the water punching my back like a blade. It was like acupuncture.

9. DENR AND THE BEACH

It was time to continue our still long journey back to magnetic hill. I decided not to change my shorts because I might need to change it again if anything happens during the trek. We reached the kubo area where we registered. Some of our fellow climbers opted to take a shower. Me and my friends did not. After all, Sir Anthony told us that we were heading to the beach to clean ourselves up! After one to two more hours, we reached magnetic hill! We got off to the easier straight path to the jump off and not through the cardiac trail. It was awesome to see the road again. We started walking towards the DENR station. Luckily, a jeepney passed by and picked us up. We hitched a free two minute ride to DENR. There, we waited for Ate Bhel and her bus. It was nice to sip a cold soda after being more than 24 hours inside the jungle.

The bus arrived and it was time to get to the beach! After some time, we reached Buenaflor beach resort. The entrance was cheap and we did not pay the cottage fee. Apparently, Ate Bhel negotiated it with the resort manager. They knew her already because that is where they always take their contracted mountaineers after an arduous climb. The resort offered two attractions: pools and beach. We warmed up at the pool, took some pictures, and then headed to the beach. Julie did not swim. She already cleaned up and was ready to go home. The sand in the beach was not good but the view was nice. The cloud formation that day was spectacular. It was like an erupting volcano. We could also see some mountains around us, although I could not point out which is Mt. Maculot, Mt. Makiling or Mt. Pico de Loro. Some of our fellow climbers pointed out that the far away island was Mindoro and the towering mountain in it was the dreaded Mt. Halcon. Simply amazing.

10. EXTENDED SOCIALS

After having dinner at the resort, and after seeing a snake there, we boarded the bus to finally go home. The main attraction in the bus was a drinking session lead by Sir Anthony. He was serving a shot of Gran Matador here and there while the bus was moving! Incredible! Because of the drinking session, there were lots of stopovers at gasoline station for a peeing session. When we were near Manila and many of us were slightly drunk, there were discussions on a possible house party. Some of our fellow climbers left already including Sir Long and some Teletech mountaineers. Julie also had an appointment that night and so she could not come. But Sir Erwin and Sir Gerald of Bacoor Teletech were very eager to continue the socials. Simply volunteered their house. It was like a discussion over the influence of alcohol and I really thought it will not push through. But the next thing I knew was our co-climbers were with us on a trip to our hometown! Ronnel and I went to our house to get an electric fan. I also brought one El Hombre tequila which was sitting on our refrigerator for two months already. It came from my previous Mt. Samat trip with my 2008 JFINEX family. Then, we entertained our guests at Simply’s house. We played the video I recorded during our trip and Cely was the star! She was a natural comedienne in the mountain. The drinking and the extended socials continued from Ternate, Cavite all the way to Norzagaray, Bulacan!

This was a very memorable first formal climb. It opened my mind and my heart towards Philippine mountains. I already learned the basics of mountaineering and I was willing to put it to practice by conquering other mountains. I will be climbing several other mountains but I will see to it to visit Mt. Pico de Loro again for it was the reason my passion for this was triggered. It is my favorite mountain and this most probably is the best climb of my life!